Staring Into The Abyss
by TanaTheScop
Summary: Aizen gives Grimmjow a mission to the world of the living alongside Ulquiorra to observe Ichigo and his allies. The sixth espada had never really given a deep thought to the substitute soul reaper or his friends, but now he finds himself caught up in a sudden relationship with the last person he'd ever think of getting close to. GrimmIchi, some GrimmShiroGrimm. Lemons.
1. Instinct and Insolence

Chapter 1: Instinct and Insolence

"God damn it!" Grimmjow cursed as he felt the bones in his hand crunch when he struck the solid wall. That damn bastard was too fast!

As if reading his thoughts, Ulquiorra's emotionless voice rang out behind him. "You're too slow, trash. You have to be better than that if you wish to even touch me."

Grimmjow growled, pushing himself away from the wall and striding toward the other man. "Trash, am I? We'll see about that, now won't we?" A maniacal grin spread across his face as he lunged forward, catching Ulquiorra off guard just long enough to catch the man's sleeve. Ulquiorra twisted out of the way before hitting Grimmjow on the back of his neck, causing the other man to lose his footing and hit the ground. Before Grimmjow could retaliate, the door to the training room opened, and Kaname Tosen calmly walked into the open space where the other two were standing.

"You have a mission." Grimmjow scowled at the ex-captain's voice. The two had never gotten along, and it was even worse now that Kaname had taken his arm. Not that it anyway impeded Grimmjow's fighting skill. Nothing could do that.

"What mission is that?" Ulquiorra sounded completely indifferent, but Grimmjow knew better. The other man had been getting bored lately, and a trip to the world of the living was probably just the thing to cheer him up. Not that he cared about Ulquiorra's feelings.

"You are only to observe the substitute soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki, and his group of accomplices. Nothing more." Having said that, Kaname turned to leave.

"Hold up, you! You haven't told us anything yet! What if we get found out? Can we kill them then?" Grimmjow didn't like the thought of just being a freaking peeping tom on those kids without at least having a little fun. And fun for him involved a lot of blood and pain. Plus, he owed that orange-haired soul reaper a little payback for that damn scar on his chest.

Kaname stopped but didn't turn around. "You are only to watch, arrancar. Nothing more. Did I really need to say anything else?" Kaname left the room without so much as a backward glance. Blind bastard.

"How boring." Ulquiorra slowly turned to face Grimmjow. "It looks as if you won't be very much fun on this trip, hmm? I suppose I'll have to do all the work while you sulk."

"Who's sulking, idiot?" Grimmjow scowled again, pursing his lips as he thought about the assignment. It could be worse, he mused. He could have been stuck with that fruitcake Luppi. At least Ulquiorra knows his own gender.

He spun around, almost knocking into the smaller man. "Are we going or not? I'm bored now, and I don't like being bored." Ulquiorra just looked at him before going out the door. "Thought so," muttered Grimmjow, before following him out.

* * *

The world of the living is definitely different than Hueco Mundo, thought Grimmjow, gazing at the lights of Karakura Town through the rip in the sky. Ulquiorra was beside him, probably waiting for him to get his ass in gear and get out, but he could take his sweet damn time if wanted to. Nobody would rush him into anything.

He jumped a little as Ulquiorra said, "Are you going?" He hated to admit it but the other guy kind of creeped him out every now and then. It was just that freaking voice of his...

"Yeah, yeah. What's the rush, stupid? Are you that eager to get back to Aizen and his squad of loonies? Because I'm not."

"Of course not, trash. However, you are really the only one who has a problem with being in Hueco Mundo. I am quite content with my position. You should really develop more self-control."

"Your position? What, as the fourth strongest espada? I would want to be the first, not that damn Starrk! How did he get to be number one anyway? Did he sleep his way to the top?" Grimmjow ran his right hand through his hair, getting agitated at the thought of his former rank of number 6 in the espada. He was better than that fruitcake that replaced him, anyway. Even with one arm. So why was he demoted again?

"You truly have a temper, Grimmjow. You seem to make problems with everyone and yet you resolve none of them. You have no strength of will."

"I'll show you freaking strength of will, you dumbass! Just watch!" With that, Grimmjow launched himself out of the rip, leaving Ulquiorra staring after him with the blank expression of a confused snake.

"What did I say?"

* * *

"liiiichigoooo!" Ichigo cringed as a soft ball of orange plush landed on top of his head. A squirming, angry ball of plush, but who the hell cares about that?

"What do you want, Kon? Shouldn't you be back at my place? Someone could see you out in public like this."

The stuffed lion frowned, somehow starting to cry frustrated tears. "Where's my Rukia? I haven't seen her for years! When will she be here?" Kon started to yank Ichigo's hair, making Ichigo grab him and throw him into a trash can as he walked by. Kon, the persistent bastard, just climbed out attached himself to Ichigo again, now smelling like mustard and stale beer.

"Leave me alone, will you? I gotta go to school. Jeez." lchigo didn't want to think about Rukia. He had enough problems already, what with his inner hollow acting up. If he didn't get a hold on it soon, he could end up hurting all the people that he wanted to protect, and where would that leave him?

Kon finally gave up and went... somewhere. Ichigo didn't really care where the annoying little thing went as long as it wasn't anywhere near him.

"Ichigo! Hey, over here!" Ichigo looked up at the sound of Orihime's voice. She waved exuberantly as his eyes found where she was standing. Uryu and Chad were there, too. Uryu looked a little constipated, as usual, and Chad was his normal, stoic self. And he was wearing that awful pink Hawaiian shirt. Where did he get that monstrosity anyway?

"Hey guys. What're you doing?" Ichigo looped his thumbs through the straps on his backpack.

"Going to school, obviously." Uryu pushed up his glasses and turned, walking toward the school. He hadn't been very sociable since they'd returned from the Soul Society, and he had yet to confide in them that he'd lost his powers after battling the captain of Squad 12, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

"Umm, Uryu is just in a bad mood today, that's all!" Orihime laughed uncomfortably and ruffled her hair. Her blue barrettes caught the sun, reminding Ichigo that none of his friends were really very normal. And he was the weirdest one of the bunch.

"Well, I guess I'm going to go, too. I'll see you guys later." Ichigo left his friends and made his way into the school, once again thinking of all the ways his life could go wrong. Little did he know, his life would be the last thing on his mind when he got home that day.

* * *

"Man, I'm so bored right now!" Grimmjow turned away from his view of the Kurosaki kid walking into the ugly building across from his current seat. Nothing interesting had happened at all, and who the hell knew where Ulquiorra was. Grimmjow was slowly going crazy with all of the nothing that was going on in this godforsaken world. Soon, if he didn't get some action, he would have to stir up a little trouble for the humans just to keep his sanity. What little there was, anyway.

Standing up, Grimmjow stretched, feeling the sharp absence of his left arm. If it was the last thing he'd do, he would pay back that bastard Kaname, even if it killed him. He turned his head back toward the girl and her dark friend as they also headed into the building. A few minutes later, a faint bell rang out in the building. Grimmjow blew out a sigh before sinking back to the ground. He let his vision go blurry as he prepared himself for the hours of boredom ahead. He didn't want to leave and miss the humans leaving. There was nothing worse than losing track of one's prey.

Grimmjow felt a slight presence behind him and whirled around, muscles tensed to attack. When he saw it was only Ulquiorra he relaxed slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Are your subjects in that ugly building there?"

"Yeah, why? Shouldn't you be watching your group?" Ulquiorra chose to watch the soul reapers which included the ones called Renji, Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. Grimmjow didn't think the other man would abandon his post just to screw around with him, but the world was just full of surprises. He noticed Ulquiorra had a strange object in his hand. It seemed to be melting over his hand. "Is that some sort of strange food item?"

Ulquiorra looked down impassively at the thing in his hand. "The man told me it was called 'ice cream.' I decided to try it out of sheer perversity, I suppose."

"You're a pervert, alright. Eating human food like a common monkey," Grimmjow muttered under his breath. "Wait, you let a human see you?"

Ulquiorra nodded. "I saw no harm in it." He held up the ice cream. "I haven't tried it yet. It is not a very appetizing color, is it? I wonder if that human tried to fool me with poison or some such thing..." He looked at it almost suspiciously.

"It doesn't matter anyway. You won't actually eat it." Grimmjow stared in horrified fascination as Ulquiorra brought the ice cream to his mouth and licked it ponderously. He stared at it for a few seconds longer before saying, "It's cold," and throwing it over the wall. It splattered helplessly on the pavement below the roof, and a few ignorant humans looked around in puzzlement, trying to find the culprit.

"Heh. Knew it'd taste terrible. Now get back to your post, stupid. You have a job to do, don't you?"

"Who thought you would be lecturing me on responsibility. I suppose I should go, though. I wouldn't want one of my subjects to die and me miss it." Ulquiorra flashed, disappearing in less than a second, leaving Grimmjow alone with his thoughts, which was quite a dangerous place for him.

* * *

"Back from school already, son? If I didn't know better I'd think you didn't have any friends! But of course the son of a popular guy like me wouldn't be alone on a Friday night, now would he?" Isshin Kurosaki belted out a laugh as Ichigo slinked through the door, just avoiding his father's attempted tackle. Isshin slammed into the wall and popped back up, nosebleed in full swing with a huge grin on his face. "That's my boy! Great dodge, Ichigo!"

"Dad, when are you going to stop trying to attack me? Aren't you even worried that you'll kill me or something one day?"

"Come on Ichigo! Don't be a sissy! If I didn't know better I'd think I had three daughters instead of two! Be a man and give your old dad a hug!" Isshin crashed into the fridge door as Ichigo opened the refrigerator to get a bottle of water.

"Jeez, Dad, give it a rest. Ichigo just got home." Karin, Ichigo's sister, stomped into the kitchen. "Plus, you don't want to break the house again, do you?"

"Haha. I guess not." Isshin swept a sheepish hand through his spiked hair as he patted Karin's head. She scowled, narrowing her eyes before joining Ichigo at the counter. He was making himself a sandwich, knowing that dinner was a ways off since there was almost no food in the fridge. However, he wouldn't be surprised if his youngest sister Yuzu could whip up something for dinner anyway, even with the limited supplies.

"I'm going up to my room Dad. Yuzu, you'll call me when dinner is ready, right?" He said, as he saw her come into the room from the corner of his eyes.

"Sure, Ichigo. That'll be fine! That is, if you guys would stop messing around and get out of the kitchen so I can work!" Ichigo left her yelling at Karin and his dad, carrying the plate with his sandwich up the stairs. He didn't pay any attention to his surroundings as he set the plate on his dresser and went to his closet to put up his uniform. However, just as he got the shirt off, a voice rang out, startling him and bringing him spinning around to face the window.

"Now, I don't think it's polite to undress when you've got company in your room, now is it?" The man seated on the window ledge had his one arm resting loosely on his bent leg. The fingers twitched restlessly as Ichigo fumbled for his substitute soul reaper badge that allowed him to take his soul reaper form. Before he found it, however, the man flashed and appeared before him, wrenching his arms above his head and shoving Ichigo into the wall beside the open closet. "No no, none of that now. We're just going to have a friendly conversation. There's no need to bring swords into it."

Ichigo winced at the painful pressure the man was keeping on his wrists. He gritted his teeth and gave a savage smile equal to the one currently curving the other man's lips. "Well well. It's you again. And yet you're looking a little worse for wear, now aren't you, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow felt a sense of excitement seeing the boy's face echo the violence in his own

expression. "Yes I am, thank you for noticing. Still, I don't think my looks are in anyway damaged by this little loss. I'm the amazing Grimmjow Jaegerjacquez, after all."

"Oh, so you're a circus performer, now? What, did Aizen get tired of you throwing tantrums all the time?"

"Oh no, on the contrary, boy, I've been gifted with the very special task of watching over you and your passle of little friends! Isn't that lucky for you?"

Ichigo began to struggle even harder. Grimmjow tightened his grip on the boy's arms just in case he mustered up enough strength to break his hold. "Stay away from them, you freak! Touch them and I'll kill you!"

"My, my. I think I'm liking this side of you, Kurosaki. I never knew you could be this fun. I thought you didn't have a killer instinct like mine."

"I'm nothing like you, monster. I only want to protect my friends! When have you ever wanted to protect someone besides yourself in your entire life!"

"Well, there's no need to be rude. Here I am, thinking I was fortunate that I disobeyed my orders to talk to you and you just go on insulting me." Grimmjow tightened his grip even further. Even with only one arm, the pressure was immense, and soon Ichigo could feel the bones in his wrists start to fracture. "That's really not very nice of you." Grimmjow leaned in closer to the boy. "But I like that in my prey."

"Orders? What orders?" Ichigo closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain. If only he could get a hand free then he could get his badge and turn soul reaper. Grimmjow watched the thoughts flash across Ichigo's face. The kid was easier to read than a book. With pictures.

"Fine. I'm feeling merciful tonight." Grimmjow let him go and flashed back to his perch on the ledge. Predictably, Ichigo took out his badge and smashed it to his chest, expelling his soul reaper spirit. His body flopped harmlessly to the ground, empty.

"Now we can fight on equal terms, arrancar." Ichigo drew his zanpakto and brandished it in front of him. Grimmjow just grinned joyously.

"Didn't I say I didn't come here to fight you? I just wanted to talk. I got so bored watching all of you that I was fixing to go out of my mind. It does the body good to get a little excitement."

"What? What are you talking about? You're crazier than I expected if you think you can just sit there and do... whatever it is you're doing!" Ichigo started shifting from foot to foot and Grimmjow's blue eyes followed the movement, smile still lingering on his face.

"You're just the thing I needed, you know that? I think I'm gonna go hunt down Ulquiorra now. Maybe we can go out for ice cream." He winked at the dumbfounded boy and saluted as he flipped backwards out of the window. He started down the street at a fast pace. He didn't feel like flying tonight, and he needed to burn off some energy anyway before he imploded with excitement. His night was just beginning.

Ichigo stared at the window in shock. He just left, just like that? What the hell was wrong with that guy's brain? His wrists gave a twinge of warning before Zangetsu fell out of his nerveless hands. Ichigo rubbed his hands together, trying to get some feeling back into them. The guy had a grip like a vise, he had to give him that at least. Even with one arm he was a pretty scary person.

Ichigo sighed and forced all thoughts of the blue-haired arrancar out of his mind. He picked up his zanpakto before reentering his body, feeling a momentary disconnection that quickly passed. His head shot toward the door as Karin entered.

"Dinner's ready downstairs if you want it. You looked a little beat earlier so I wasn't sure." She stopped, narrowing her eyes at him. "You look weird. Is something wrong?"

He laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair. "No, nothing's wrong. Why'd you think that?" His hand fell down to his side, and he stood there awkwardly trying to compose himself. He'd always felt his sisters saw too much, and he didn't want them to get involved with his problems any more than they already were. "I'll be down in a moment. Just give me a sec to change out of my uniform." He looked down at himself, realizing that he'd forgotten that his shirt was already off.

"Ok. I'll tell Yuzu and Dad you'll be down." She gave him a pseudo-concerned look. "You probably should get more rest. I think you're kind of losing your mind, Ichigo."

He growled at her and pushed her out the door. "Get out of my room, Karin. You're being annoying." He shut the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. "I love my family but God! Sometimes I just can't do it." He flopped down on his bed and buried his face in his pillow. I really hate that damn arrancar, he thought. I really, really do.

Sighing yet again, Ichigo dragged himself out of bed and made his way downstairs to where his family was waiting for him at the kitchen table. His problems would have to go on hold for now. There were more important things to take care of.

* * *

"Ulquiorra? Are you there?" Grimmjow yelled, cursing as he almost tripped over a broken pipe sticking out of the concrete floor. Ulquiorra was supposed to be here, seeing as he'd chosen this abandoned, disgusting warehouse as his base for their mission. Grimmjow had pitched a fit, refusing to live in that horrid place for even an hour, but nothing he'd said was able to change the other man's mind. Ulquiorra had thought no one would find them here since there was no discernable traces of spiritual pressure left anywhere in the whole building and it was so beaten down and out of the way that it was basically invisible to the common populace. Grimmjow had been grudgingly surprised at the other man's willingness to sacrifice comfort for strategy, but now he just thought he was a fool.

"Damn it Ulquiorra! If you aren't here and I came here for nothing then I swear I'm going to kill you! Get your ass out here now!" Grimmjow meant his promise. He never went back on his word.

"I'm right here, trash. Do you think you could be a bit louder? I think I can still hear out of my ears." Wow. Sarcasm from the emotionless robot. How shocking. Well, two can play at that game, thought Grimmjow.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did pwecious wittle Ulquiorra hurt his ears? Come over here so I can kiss it better," Grimmjow snarled as his hand closed around the side of a concrete pillar. He ripped a chunk out of the beam, making dust rain down onto the filthy floor. "Or I could make it worse, whichever you'd prefer?"

Ulquiorra stared impassively at Grimmjow, cold green eyes not showing the least bit of fear. "Did you have fun with the substitute soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki? His spiritual pressure is lingering all over you like constant shadow. He must have been very agitated."

"Fuck! You can sense that?" Grimmjow ran his hand through his hair. "I thought I gave it enough time to wear off. I guess it didn't go too well." He looked at Ulquiorra, unusually solemn. "Are you going to tattle to Aizen?" He drew in a breath as Ulquiorra did the scariest thing he'd ever seen.

He smiled.

* * *

"Ichigo, are you okay? You look kind of pale today?" Ichigo smiled weakly at Orihime's concerned tone. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well last night. Bad dreams, you know?"

Orihime gasped. "Oh, I know all about bad dreams! There was this one I had a while ago where there was all of this cool food laid out on a pretty table, like at a feast, but there was no one around to eat it! So I thought 'It would sure be a shame if all this food went to waste!' and I started eating it all. There was spaghetti with dark chocolate sauce and blueberry meatballs, and salmon yogurt, and orange—"

"Orihime! I get it!" Ichigo laughed. She was the same as always. Nothing could change Orihime Inoue.

"Heh heh. I guess I got a little carried away, huh? Oh well, I'm glad that was only a dream. The food was good, but I had a really bad stomach ache after I'd finished eating everything. I was fine when I woke up though, so that was good!" She smiled cheerfully up at him. "Did you feel better when you woke up?"

He smiled halfheartedly back at her, not wanting to worry her with unneccesary things. "Not really, but I'm sure tonight will be better. I'll just go to bed earlier, I guess."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." She paused at the walkway to her home. "Thanks for walking me home, Ichigo. You didn't have to, you know. I would have been fine."

"Well, you never know what kind of creatures you could meet on these streets." Like a certain blue-haired maniac. "It wasn't any trouble. Take care, Orihime." He turned and started toward his house. Orihime called after him, "Bye Ichigo! You be careful too! I've been feeling some strange presences lately so be on the lookout!" before going into her house. Ichigo smield humorlessly. He knew exactly what the strange presences were and he was ready for them. Bring it on.

* * *

Grimmjow tracked the boy from his friend's house all the way home, feeling like a creepy loser who had nothing better to do than stalk a teenager to his house. To make things worse, Ulquiorra was with him, though he hadn't said a word since they'd left the warehouse. Grimmjow frowned as he remembered what happened after the other man had given that disturbing smile.

_"__Of course I won't tell Aizen about your little mistake," Ulquiorra said, teeth beginning to show in what had to be the most terrifying smile Grimmjow had ever seen. "As long as you take me along next time you go to see him."_

_"__What! You've got to be kidding me!" Grimmjow sputtered, trying to think of a reason the other guy would want to come with him. "That's a stupid favor! Why?"_

_Ulquiorra wasn't fazed. "I want to see how you two interact. I find emotions fascinating." He paused. "Only when they are not my own, that is." He looked up at Grimmjow. "If you don't comply with my demand, I will not only tell Aizen of your disobedience, but I will also say that you have taken to life in this world too completely and it has tremendously affected your own skill and rationality. I would recommend that you be disposed of." He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking more like a snake than ever before. "You know that I will do it. Have no doubt. I care nothing for you."_

_Grimmjow scowled heavily and started to protest before realizing that the other man was completely serious about what he said. He would do it. The bastard had no reason not to and he didn't care anything for the lives of others around him. "Fine. You can come. But don't bother me or I'll scar your pretty face until it's unrecognizable. And don't touch the boy. He's my toy."_

_Ulquiorra just looked at him. "I understand."_

_"__Fine then. But remember what I said." And with that, the two left the warehouse and headed out to find the substitute soul reaper._

Grimmjow growled low in his throat, not sparing the smaller man a glance. He said, out of the blue, "So I guess you decided to screw watching your group? I gotta say, disobeying your great lord and master Aizen doesn't seem like you."

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly. Grimmjow only saw it because he spent so much time around the other man. "Aizen is not my master. I have no master."

Grimmjow laughed bitterly. "Yeah right, idiot. We all got a master and it's Aizen. At least he likes you. I mean, you're the sycophantic genius who hangs onto his every I am a rebellious troublemaker who is this close to being put down." He held his index finger and thumb about half an inch apart. "I've already been demoted."

Ulquiorra was silent for a few minutes. They cleared five more roofs before he spoke again. "I wouldn't think you would be concerned by that. But there's no time for that. The boy's house is right there." They stopped on top of the roof of the building across from the Kurosaki family's clinic and home. Ulquiorra looked at Grimmjow with no expression. "I will follow your lead." Grimmjow laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, you'd better. My promise still stands." He looked down to where the orange-haired soul reaper was just entering his home. "This kid's all mine."

* * *

Ichigo felt bone weary as he dragged himself through the door. He'd been sensing faint spiritual pressures all day, and it had gotten worse since he'd walked Orihime home. He recognized the pressure of the blue-haired espada. The other one felt vaguely familiar, and he felt like he should know it, but Ichigo just couldn't remember who it belonged to.

Ichigo frowned as his head was once again full of thoughts of Grimmjow. Why the hell was he thinking about that man so much? It was getting a little creepy. He looked up at the sound of Yuzu's voice as she walked into the kitchen with Karin. She smiled when she saw him standing by the door. "Hey, Ichigo. Why are you just standing there? Dad's asleep already. It was a hard day today. A lot of patients." She looked at him closely as Karin pulled a soda out of the fridge. "You look kinda mad. Something wrong?"

"Nope. Nothing you guys need to worry about." Ichigo smiled and grabbed a banana and a bottle of water before walking toward the stairs. "I'm pretty tired so I'm just gonna head to bed already. I don't really feel like dinner tonight."

"Okay. Hope you feel better, Ichigo. Good night." Karin also said good night and Ichigo smiled at them as he climbed the stairs toward his room. Right before he opened his door, however, he sensed two ridiculously strong spiritual pressures inside his bedroom. He dropped his backpack in the hall and changed into his soul reaper form before bursting into his room. "Why the hell are you here again! This time I swear I'll kill you!" Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu and slid into a battle stance, legs bent and sword at the ready. Grimmjow just looked at him and laughed derisively.

"Cool down, little boy. We're not here to fight. It's the exact opposite actually." Grimmjow slinked closer to Ichigo, disregarding the bare zanpakto that seemed to quiver in the boy's hands. It obviously enjoyed battle, too, just as its master did. Ichigo was ready for the arrancar to make his move, but strangely enough, Grimmjow stopped about two feet away from him, not even trying to attack him. That was when the other man spoke up. His voice reminded Ichigo of shadows within shadows. He felt a shiver go through him, but did not let it distract him.

"It seems the boy does not like you as well as you think, Grimmjow. Perhaps you are delusional?"

"Shut the hell up, Ulquiorra. I never said he liked me, just that he was mine to play with. I never asked you for your opinion on it, dumbass."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. The man was the same one who made that crater in the park. The one who was with that big guy whose arm Urahara cut off. Ichigo recalled the way he'd almost lost his life in that brief battle, as well as almost unleashing his hollow. He felt a dark, maniacal laugh slide through his mind, there one minute and gone the next. It was acting up again, and there was nothing Ichigo could really do about it. His hollow seemed to really enjoy the presence of the arrancars.

Deciding to match Grimmjow's surprisingly unthreatening approach, Ichigo sheathed Zangetsu, drawing the attention of the two men. Grimmjow's eyebrows went up while Ulquiorra showed no emotion whatsoever. The green tracks on his face looked even more like black tears in the shadows of his dark room, and why am I thinking this? Ichigo thought to himself. In contrast, the marks around Grimmjow's eyes just seemed to make him seem unconventional and fun. What the hell was wrong with him? Ichigo shook his head trying to clear out all these weird thoughts. Grimmjow found the sight amusing and said so.

"You look kinda funny shaking your head like a wet dog, Kurosaki. Want me to help you out?" He reached out and plopped his hand down on Ichigo's tousled orange hair. Ichigo snorted derisively before knocking his hand away. "I don't need your help, espada."

Grimmjow grinned even wider. "If you say so." He then flopped down onto Ichigo's bed without a second thought to his welcome. The other one, however, looked at Ichigo so intensely that he began to get a little uncomfortable. "What do you want?" he asked, a small tremor of nerves running through his voice.

"You are lower than trash to me. I want nothing from you." He turned to Grimmjow, who had a very annoyed slant to his eyes when he looked back at the smaller man. "This boy doesn't seem to be as enthusiastic about you as you are to him. Is it reasonable for you to pursue someone who has no interest in you other than to give you your true death?"

"Hell yes! I love a good challenge!" He shot an arrogant, triumphant look at Ichigo. Who the hell was this guy and what did he think he was going to do with Ichigo? Ichigo narrowed his eyes as the arrancar started moving in on him, slinking closer. He winced as his hollow started acting up in his head. He got really worried when he heard it speak. _"Hey, King? Whatcha gonna do wit da pretty blueberry? Give 'em ta me an' I'll have me a little fun, hm?"_ Ichigo shivered almost imperceptibly at the hollow's eagerness. _"Aren't you supposed to reflect the basic traits of my personality? I'm not gay!"_ Ichigo demanded of his other hollow laughed. _"Sure ya aren't, King. It's yer call!"_ He cackled evilly again.

When Ichigo managed to separate himself from conversing with his hollow, he got a shock when he noticed Grimmjow standing flush against him, all in his personal space, sniffing his neck. The arrancar didn't seem threatening at all, though. Instead, he seemed almost confused. He looked up at Ichigo, a small frown marring his perfect brow. "Your scent changed there for a moment. It got a little… dark, I guess." He looked at Ulquiorra. "Did you feel the change in his spiritual pressure, too? It changed with his scent."

Ulquiorra nodded but seemed utterly uninterested in everything that was going on. He was currently amusing himself by staring out the window at a stray cat beneath Ichigo's window. The cat had a dead bird in its mouth, probably going off to eat it somewhere. "I don't really care about the boy, Grimmjow. Are we done here for the night? I find myself a little underwhelmed with you."

"Shut the hell up, idiot. Leave if you want to. I ain't going nowhere." He looked back at Ichigo, suggestive grin on his face, moving even closer than he had been when he sniffed Ichigo's neck. Ichigo felt a tremor of rage at the espada's arrogance. That was one thing he couldn't stand, people who thought everything and everyone was below their own level of power, intelligence, beauty, and anything else they had an inflated ego over. Obviously this arrancar was one of those people.

With his building rage distracting him, the hollow felt his chance and took it, rising up through Ichigo's mind and seizing power from the King. That arrancar was gonna get one helluva surprise, the hollow thought, feeling a wicked smirk cross Ichigo's face.

* * *

Grimmjow was taken aback when he saw the evil grin on Ichigo's face. When the boy opened his eyes, Grimmjow drew in a breath at the black and gold colors, so different from the normal human brown of the soul reaper's eyes. Not to say he was scared, far from it actually. Those strange eyes just made his excitement get stronger. He could feel Ulquiorra getting disgusted at his common reactions. The other man really did feel nothing, but sometimes when you pushed him too far, he would let you have a glimpse of the deep, endless pit that he held inside him. He was probably the only being in any world that could almost make Grimmjow truly fear for his life.

He turned his attention back to the soul reaper turned hollow who was looking back at him with an insolent light in his eyes. This boy was so full of surprises and Grimmjow was going to uncover them all. Slowly, painfully… completely.

He got distracted yet again when the boy slowly swiped his tongue over his bottom lip, giving it a subtle shine in the dark room. Ichigo's hollow was a tease, Grimmjow thought, pleased at this discovery. Hollows enjoyed bedding things with a little spirit in them. It didn't matter if it was male or female. Grimmjow in particular had gotten over that hangup even before becoming an arrancar.

When the boy bit his soft lip until it reddened, Grimmjow let out a low growl, which apparently amused the hollow to no end as his grin widened. "Like whatcha see, Grimmy darling?" His voice was different than Ichigo's, dual-toned and higher, yet raspier at the same time. He trailed his hand suggestively down Grimmjow's chest.

Behind him, Grimmjow felt Ulquiorra rise from his seat on the window sill, finally disgusted beyond his endurance. "I'm leaving," he said, before disappearing out the window. Grimmjow couldn't say he wasn't glad the man left. He was never one to lie. Most of the time. He focused on the hollow in front of him. "Now, where are we going with this?"

The hollow grinned. "Where ever ya want to, Grimmy. I got all da time in da world."


	2. Will You Pay the Price?

A/N: Hey! I'm back with the next chapter! And I wanted to thank the few who reviewed the first chapter, as well as those who favorited and/or followed. Sincerely, deeply, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU! I admit I can lose my inspiration pretty quickly, and you guys really helped keep me on track! And FYI, this story will most likely not follow canon very much. I'm lazy, so I don't want to have to refer to the manga or anime for plot events (smiles sheepishly) yeeeah... Now for my lovely reviewers!

Missy QueenBee: Eventually, my dear. Eventually. ;-) I'm excited about it, too.

Guest: Thanks! I write my stories hoping they'll be interesting to other people, so I suppose I achieved my goal!

Assassins Mistress: The OOC was kinda sorta intentional, but really I just write what I want. I don't plan :-) that's probably bad, but carpe diem, I guess...

Disclaimer (which I forgot last chapter. oops): I do not own Bleach, no matter how much I might wish and dream and hope for Tite Kubo to give me the rights to it as a birthday present.

Chapter 2: Will You Pay the Price?

Ichigo paced furiously in his inner world, getting more and more pissed off every second that the hollow was in control of his body. And worse that damn espada wasn't even protesting! He was just grinning like a damn fool, happy at the world! What is up with hollows and their lack of morals! Ichigo ran his hand through his tousled orange hair in agitation, unaware of the presence that was standing patiently behind him. He spun around when he heard a voice call his name, relaxing only when he saw that it was Zangetsu. But then again, who else would be in this godforsaken world of his?

"You seem unsettled, boy. Care to explain why you are here while your hollow is loose in the world?" The zanpakto's voice was laced with disapproval. "I thought you had gotten at least a marginal amount of control over the beast."

'Well, you know, things never seem to go as I planned, so I quit making them a while ago." Ichigo sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before looking at the zanpakto spirit. "Got any advice as to how I put him on a leash?"

Surprisingly, Zangetsu let out a brief chuckle. "You are on your own there, boy. I get quite enough of the hollow's annoying presence as it is. If I helped you conquer him, then I would never get any pace. You are much easier to deal with, though just as headstrong."

Ichigo snorted in annoyance. "Yeah, that's great. Nice of you to help." He looked up at the sky, hoping that the hollow would at least take Ichigo's feelings into account.

* * *

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow as the hollow in front of him grinned. He couldn't tell what was behind that smirk. Excitement, anger, sadistic pleasure? "Gotta admit, Ichi. You're getting to be just a little unnerving right now…"

The hollow grinned. "Hah! Unnervin', am I?" He leaned closer. "Just so you know, though. I ain't Ichi."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the hollow. "Do you have a name, then?" he asked.

"Nope! Da King's been shirkin' his responsibilities. He ain't given me a name yet."

The blue-haired espada raised an eyebrow. "Why not? He scared of you or something?"

The hollow snickered derisively. "Wouldn't be surprised if he was. I'd be a scared uh me too if I were him." He looked at Grimmjow with a calculating light in his eyes. "How 'bout ya give me a name? I wouldn't mind dat much. Probably."

Grimmjow stared at him for a moment, before grabbing the hollow's hands and pulling them above his head. The movements were lightning quick so the hollow had no time to react before Grimmjow's head was buried in the space between the other man's neck and shoulder.

"That feels a little too close to naming a puppy or a baby or something. I ain't ready for no commitments yet. I got things of my own to do, you know."

The hollow snorted. "It ain't like I'm trying to get ya to marry me or somethin'. Ya just think of a name and give it ta me. Damn, Grimmy, what the hell you think we're gonna do, have little hollow babies together? Tch!"

Grimmjow's lips curved up as he nuzzled the hollow's neck, breathing in the dark, slightly wintery smell of his skin. "Okay then. How about Shirosaki? Hmm?"

The hollow smirked but closed his eyes tilted his head back, allowing Grimmjow to leave small butterfly kisses on his neck. "Ain't very original but I suppose it'll do."

* * *

"God damn it! What the fuck is he doing! Don't let him touch you like that, you stupid hollow!" Ichigo scowled as his hollow's amusement drifted into his mind. He didn't, not for one minute, like where this whole situation was going.

As his fury made the wind pick up, Zangetsu stood serenely on his pole, a small smile quirking his lips. "Shouting useless comments to the sky will not help you gain back control, Ichigo. Do not wait for him to be satisfied and come back here to be your horse. If you do, he will never bow to you again. You must wrest control from him by force. Your power, your strength, is the only thing he will truly understand."

Ichigo turned toward his zanpakuto, hair the color of the evening sun ruffling and dancing in the torrential winds. "And just how do I do that, old man?"

Zangetsu started fading away into a million tiny specks of dark light. "Now that is something you must figure out on your own. Good luck, Ichigo…" As the last spirit particle floated away, Ichigo furrowed his brows, trying to think of a way to get back control of his body. Shutting out the distractions from the outside world, Ichigo sat down and closed his eyes. He didn't want to fight the hollow, because that's exactly what the crazy bastard wanted. Instead, Ichigo would fight fire with water and calm the hollow's wild emotions.

He took a deep breath, settled his thoughts, and drifted away.

* * *

Shirosaki felt a tremor of unease pass through him as he realized his king was being quiet. Too quiet. He tried to find Zangetsu, but the zanpakuto was blocking him out. Something was going on. _Those two are planning something that means trouble for me,_ thought Shiro.

He focused his attention back on Grimmjow as the blue-haired espada sunk his teeth into Shiro's neck deep enough to draw blood. The sheer… _arrogance_ of the action ignited a spark of anger in the hollow. He wasn't some goddamn beta bitch for the cat to dominate, nope. He was a fucking alpha, and he was going to show the kitty cat just how wrong he was in thinking otherwise.

Quick as lightning, Shiro's hand flashed to the side of Grimmjow's head, pushing it to the side and away from his neck as he gathered the other man's hands into a strong grip and slammed him against the wall.

"Now what exactly d'ya think yer doin', hmm Grimmy dear? I don't recall agreein' to being yer bottom, so what made ya think I'd fuckin' submit to ya, huh?" Shiro felt Grimmjow tense in anger and let a nasty smile cross his lips. That grin disappeared when he started to feel lethargy seep through his body. "Wha…?" His gold and black eyes rolled back and he fell backwards, head making a sharp crack when it hit the floor.

* * *

The room was silent for a while, before Grimmjow turned his head and glanced behind him at the unconscious teen on the floor. _What the fuck just happened?_ Ichigo's hollow was a little… bipolar, and he seemed to get pissed at the drop of a hat. For a split second, he felt a tinge of fear enter his mind. Just what did he get himself into, pursuing the human boy who wasn't just a human?

He turned around slowly when he heard a strangled groan come from the boy still crumpled in a heap on the ground. After taking a cautious sniff of the air, Grimmjow realized Ichigo's musky sandalwood and rain scent was dominant again.

"Ugh, God my head hurts…" Ichigo pulled himself into a sitting position, hands clutching his head as if trying to keep it from splitting open and spilling his gray matter onto his floor. Grimmjow's lips twisted in slight disgust at the image, not because it was brain matter, but of it being _Ichigo's_ brain matter. The man narrowed his eyes before casually walking to sit on the boy's bed to wait for him to get his senses back in gear.

When he heard movement in his room, Ichigo wearily opened his eyes, once again their unique shade of warm brown. He blearily frowned when he saw Grimmjow lounging on his bed like he owned the damn thing. Before he could say anything, though, the man spoke, voice oddly subdued.

"So… you're back, huh?" His cerulean eyes were shadowed when he stared at Ichigo's face. For some reason, Grimmjow found himself thinking that he liked Ichigo's normal human eyes better than his hollow's. Where Shirosaki's eyes were maniacal and unbalanced, Ichigo's were calm and steady. They seemed… stronger, somehow, and he had always prized strength above all else.

Ichigo snorted before painfully picking himself up off the floor to collapse in his desk chair. "What's it to you, Grimmjow? I know you don't give a fuck." _But why do I want you to care? Why does it hurt?_

Grimmjow just looked at him before rising and going to the window. He paused before raising the glass and swinging a leg out into the cool night air. Straddling the windowsill, Grimmjow's gaze connected with Ichigo's and he replied to the unspoken question in the boy's eyes. It was only three words but they summed up the tension and brittle emotions between the two quite well.

"I don't know." And he slid out the window. Ichigo blinked before rushing to the window, but the other man was almost gone, his eyes barely managing to catch a glimpse of Grimmjow before he sonidoed away. For a second, with his white hakama billowing around him and the moonlight casting a mysterious silver glow around him, the hollow almost looked as if he was a dark angel fleeing from Heaven for fear of his life… or something much more personal.

Ichigo shook his head at the strange, whimsical thought before dragging himself back into his body and falling into bed, exhausted in mind, body, and spirit.

Right before he fell into the peaceful haven of sleep, he thought he saw a flutter of white cloth outside of his window; but the blackness overtook him before he could make sure.

* * *

Grimmjow cursed himself as he perched precariously on the roof of the Kurosaki residence. Since the boy's flickering spiritual pressure had calmed down to what could almost pass as background noise to the espada's senses, Grimmjow knew the boy was asleep. That was the only reason he was out here making an idiot of himself by soul-searching on his goddamn roof. Had the boy been awake, the blue-haired arrancar would have killed himself before letting him find out that he'd stuck around like a crazy stalker.

He lost track of how much time he spent there on the roof, deep in thought. Before he could pull himself out of his own mind, an annoyed scowl twisted his face as he felt his comrade's spiritual pressure getting closer to him. Ulquiorra was a difficult person to deal with even when Grimmjow was in a good mood, and right then he was far from it. It wouldn't bother him bit to see the bat's entrails splattered over the pavement… not that he _would_ splatter, since he was an arrancar. He would just… turn into magical fairy dust and float away on the wind into the night.

What a happy, peaceful, _unsatisfying_ image.

Grimmjow cleared his face of all emotion when he felt more than heard the other man touch down beside him. He met the blank, green eyes with clear gaze. He didn't want to make the smaller espada suspicious because he was Aizen's tattletale. Though he had no loyalty to the ex-captain, Ulquiorra had been manipulated into following the bastard soul reaper. Grimmjow didn't know the details, but it had something to do with the fourth's past and the reason for his lack of discernable emotion. He didn't give a damn about Ulquiorra, but... they were brothers-in-arms. And Aizen was a soul reaper, an enemy, and quite a twisted one at that. At least Ichigo and his passle of misfit friends had a small amount of reason left in their little heads.

Aizen was just plain crazy.

"Are you satisfied, Grimmjow? Was the meeting to your expectations or do you feel crushing disappointment as you realize that the boy will never be what you need, what your instincts demand that you find? That he will forever be out of your reach and nothing you can do will fill the hole inside of you, the one that makes you what you are?" He paused, cold eyes staring intently into Grimmjow's. The blue-haired espada felt a frisson of fear run down his spine at the lack of mercy or compassion in Ulquiorra's eyes. It was like looking over a cliff into a dark abyss with no end in sight. "You are a hollow, Grimmjow. A killer. And nothing you can do will change that."

Grimmjow was shocked. The fourth espada's words were merciless, unflinching… and _so true_.

* * *

Ulquiorra felt a twinge of satisfaction as well as a tiny, minuscule, _microscopic _kernel of guilt niggle at him as he saw Grimmjow's face turn solemn, the light in his eyes subdued instead of maniacally vicious as usual. He narrowed his eyes imperceptibly as he listened to Grimmjow's reply.

"You're right. You're always fuckin' right. You goddamn, cold as hell, sadistic bastard." The last sentence was whispered and had no heat behind it despite the provocative words. Grimmjow threw one last glance at the orange-haired youth through the open window before turning, signaling his readiness to leave. "Let's get outta here. I'm fuckin' tired of this shit."

Ulquiorra put up no protest, silently sonidoing after Grimmjow. He didn't exactly regret his words, but he did admit that he could have worded his point more… _delicately_. However, it wasn't in his nature to care about other's feelings and he didn't exactly understand how to be careful with his words. He said them as blunt as he could in order to produce an effect in his subject of observation that could be later filed away in his storage of memories and studied for the logic behind the observed outcome. There was no intuition or guesswork involved. He said, he saw, he analyzed, he concluded. It was very scientific.

Ulquiorra acknowledged Grimmjow as a creature of instinct and not logic. If he was a logical being then there would be no reason for him to be… _sad_ about leaving the human because neither of them would be in this situation as it was illogical and completely detrimental to both their identities as hollows and followers of Aizen. It was slightly pitiful, the amount of attachment the catlike arrancar had already developed toward the substitute soul reaper, despite having almost no contact with him and definitely not having any sort of motivation or encouragement from either the boy or his own peers.

"What're thinkin' so hard about over there? You're so quiet, you're kinda weirding me out."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, hiding the telltale swirl of curiosity in his eyes as he continued to follow Grimmjow at an even pace, nothing near his true speed but also not slow enough that he would be considered weak. "Do not confuse me with yourself. I do not have to think deeply to keep myself quiet, trash. I have more self-control than that."

"Hmph." Grimmjow huffed a little growl before speeding up to get farther ahead of Ulquiorra, tired of the other arrancar's strange personality and bewildering habits.

Ulquiorra gazed after the blue-haired man, perplexing thoughts and questions slithering though his mind. Why did Grimmjow care so much about the boy? What was so special about Kurosaki that he could elicit this sort of attention? And what was wrong with Ulquiorra, that even though he did not mind having little to no emotions, he found himself wishing that he could feel for another person what Grimmjow was feeling for the Kurosaki boy?

* * *

Ichigo woke up the next morning feeling like shit. His whole body hurt, his head pounded like a fucking monkey was using his brain as a bongo drum, and nausea made the acid swish uneasily in his stomach like he was going to throw up. He blamed it all on his hollow. It was all that bastard's fault, and that stupid fucking espada that just didn't want to fucking leave him alone.

Needless to say, the orange-haired teen was _not amused_.

When he could finally drag himself out of bed, he slowly ambled downstairs, stopping at the base of the stairs when the room flipped dizzily and his vision grew blurry. He thought he heard his old man call his name, but he couldn't be sure with the buzzing in his ears. Ichigo blearily frowned as he saw the floor rush up at him. He was pretty sure floors weren't supposed to do that. His brown eyes clouded over and fell shut as he pitched forward. He vaguely felt someone's arms around him before the world went black.

* * *

Isshin barely caught his son before his head hit the ground. He furrowed his brows as he stared down at Ichigo's motionless form in his arms, worried thoughts bouncing around in his head. He was well aware of his son's double life as a soul reaper and had a vague idea of his strange mix of soul reaper and hollow powers, but nothing he could think of would cause his son to faint dead away without any warning.

"Dad! What's going on? What's wrong with Ichigo? Dad?" Karin timidly knelt down next to her father and placed a hand on Ichigo's forehead. "Is he alright?"

Isshin's lips twitched upwards into an unconvincing facsimile of a smile. "Sure, kid. He'll be just fine. I'm just gonna… take him to the hospital so they can make sure everything's okay. After all, our equipment here isn't the most up-to-date you could want." His expression was stern as he looked at his eldest daughter. "I want you to stay here and look after Yuzu. It's the weekend, so you don't have to do anything today. If anything bad happens you know how to call me." He bundled Ichigo into his arms and started out the door. It was a little bit of a walk to Urahara's shop but he didn't mind. He needed the fresh air to clear his head. "Stay safe."

Karin was still kneeling on the floor as he quietly shut the front door and disappeared from her sight.

* * *

When Urahara started his morning, he hadn't expected to do anything more strenuous than order Jinta and Ururu around as he hid his sadistic amusement at their pain behind his paper fan. However, he couldn't say he was surprised when Ichigo showed up on his doorstep, though seeing the orange-haired youth unconscious in the arms of his father was a little shocking.

"My, my, Isshin. What did you do to your precious son? Give him a flying kick to the head as he woke up from his peaceful slumber? For shame, for shame."

Isshin didn't respond to his good-humored teasing. "Urahara, I want you to look at Ichigo and tell me what's wrong. Please."

Urahara heard the seriousness of the situation in his friend's voice so he sobered up. "What happened?"

"He was just coming down the stairs after waking up, a little disoriented, but I had assumed that he was still sleepy and just hadn't woken up fully. However, when he didn't respond to me repeatedly calling his name, I started to get worried. I barely caught him after he started to fall forward, and then I immediately took him to you."

Urahara tapped his open fan against his lips. "Hmm, this is quite the situation, isn't it? I wouldn't be that worried if it wasn't Ichigo. This isn't normal at all for him." He snapped his fan shut and strode determinedly to the sliding door leading into the rest of the shop. "Let me see what I can do. Just wait here."

The shopkeeper knew that something was wrong with the teen, but if the problem was in his mind, then there would be nothing he could do to help the boy except give him a safe place to work out his problems while he was unconscious. He would talk to the Vizards to get their opinions before telling Isshin anything. The man worried too much as it was.

* * *

"Why are ya here anyway? I know ya don' like me none, I can see it in yer eyes, King. Yer just waitin' fer me to shrivel up an' disappear, ain'tcha? Well, dat ain't gonna happen."

Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut and angrily pinched the bridge of his nose. God forbid that he should ever become as talkative and annoying as his inner hollow. That… thing was just fucking insane.

"Will you _please_ shut up? You've been doing nothing but talking for the last… however long I've been in here! It's time to play the quiet game!"

The hollow frowned in consternation. "I ain't playin' no game with _ya_, _Ich-i-go_. Ya ain't no fun." A wicked smirk curved up his lips, white teeth flashing in the murky sunlight of Ichigo's mindscape. "On da other hand, Grimm-kitty is just a bundle uh fun, ain't he, King?" His grin grew wider as he saw Ichigo's shoulders tense uncomfortably. "Now, why didn't ya just let me ha' my fun last night, King? If ya did, I woulda left ya alone and ya wouldn't be hurtin' so bad." He snickered gleefully. "Well, maybe just a lil' bit. After all, Grimmy doesn't seem like da type to play nice, does he King?"

"Like I would ever give you what you wanted. You're crazier than I thought if that's what you expected from me."

"Why thank ya, King. I just adore ya when ya compliment me like dat." He stopped teasing Ichigo and looked at his king in contemplation. "Ya never answered ma question." The other male sighed.

"What?"

"Why are ya here?"

Ichigo scowled. "You pulled me here, you bastard! I'm not here by choice!"

The hollow scowled, too. "I didn't pull yer ungrateful, uptight ass here! I don' even wantcha here!"

"I forced you to come here, Ichigo."

Ichigo's eyes widened as he found the dark figure of his zanpakuto standing on his usual perch. "Zangetsu, you did it? Why?"

The sword glanced at the hollow, who was just as shell-shocked as Ichigo but hid it better than his king. "By denying and insulting your hollow, Ichigo, you are fighting only against yourself."

"God damn it! Not this again! That thing is not me! It may be a part of me, the part that I hate, that I never wanted to exist, but it is not me!"

Throughout this mini tirade, the hollow was strangely silent. He didn't look hurt by Ichigo's words, nor did he seem amused at the boy's vehement denial of a part of himself. He was just… blank. When he stopped to take a breath, Ichigo seemed to notice the lack of response from his hollow and blinked in confusion. He'd thought the other being would be laughing uproariously at his "king's" futile protests against Zangetsu's words or at least he would scoff and look away, but there was nothing.

It was frightening, this silence. So Ichigo decided to show some uncharacteristic concern and addressed his hollow.

"What's up with you? You're being so quiet all of a sudden."

The hollow blinked his golden, shadowed eyes at his master. "Isn't dat what ya wanted? Me to shut up an' disappear? Ya can't have it both ways, King. Either ya want me here or ya don't. Simple as dat."

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably under the heavy gazes of the other parts of his soul. The old man seemed to be silently scolding Ichigo for being so childish as to deny the truth that was right in front of him. His hollow was a part of him, but separate, another entity all together. He wasn't a "thing," but a person in himself.

But that didn't mean that Ichigo wouldn't put up a fight and just accept the stupid idea. He was pretty stubborn, after all.

"It doesn't really matter what I want, now does it? It seems that you'll be here no matter what and I can't change that, to my extreme annoyance."

Zangetsu quietly cleared his throat. There was a touch of discomfort and gloom in his voice as he said, "That's not exactly true, Ichigo."

Ichigo blinked in surprise. "What?" He saw the hollow slightly curl into himself as the zanpakuto continued with his thought.

"There is a way that you can get rid of him. Permanently. But there is a price to pay before you can make that happen, Ichigo." He paused, letting the gravity of what he was saying sink into the boy's thick skull.

"It is your soul, boy. You must give up your friends, your family, and your future to die and become a hollow."

* * *

A/N: There is quite a bit of fainting, intense/irrational emotions, and soul-searching here, isn't there... should I change the genre to romance/angst? Hmm... I love writing about the dynamics between Zangetsu, Ichigo, and Ichigo's inner hollow. Just so you know.

Will Ichigo do it? Why is Ulquiorra acting... slightly normal? What is going on in Shiro's head right now? I don't know! I haven't even started the next chapter yet, but it'll be out as soon as possible. I promise...


	3. When the World Turns Against You

Chapter 3: When the World Turns Against You

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Bleach. There, happy?

I'm switching to shorter chapters with faster updates. It's just easier with my short attention span…

The beginning is kind of ShiroIchi. It came out of nowhere, but I liked it, so I went with it. Oh, and I think I'm going to take a break with the line breaks. I don't think I need to delineate where all the POV's shift every single time, right? That's rather ridiculous. Plus it interrupts the flow of the story. So, there will be less line breaks. Probably only for scene shifts…and there is much soul-searching in this chapter. You have been warned. XD

* * *

_Previously:_

_"__There is a way that you can get rid of him. Permanently. But there is a price to pay before you can make that happen, Ichigo." He paused, letting the gravity of what he was saying sink into the boy's thick skull. _

_"__It is your soul, boy. You must give up your friends, your family, and your future to die and become a hollow."_

* * *

"How exactly is that any different than giving in to _him_, hmm? Tell me that, old man." Ichigo was amazingly calm even though it seemed as if his zanpakuto was betraying him by taking the other's side. His hollow had wandered a little ways away and had his arms folded across his chest in what looked like a petulant expression of irritation at being completely ignored by the other two.

"You are not using your brain, Ichigo. Should you think about it, I believe that you will arrive at the answer, though it most likely will not be one that you like."

"Tch. Cryptic bastard," Ichigo angrily muttered underneath his breath. He furrowed his brows in thought as he decided to humor Zangetsu and dwell on his problem a little more before asking for it to be explained to him like he was a child.

His hollow was a part of him, yet it boasted that it could take control at the drop of the hat should Ichigo show any sign of weakness. However, Ichigo considered himself the dominant personality, seeing as he was the vessel for the hollow. He was pretty sure that even if he turned into a hollow himself, the hollow couldn't just do whatever he wanted with Ichigo's body. Ichigo would still be the dominant personality, just… different. At least, that was his guess. But he would still be a hollow. That was what he didn't like.

The uncertainty was making his head hurt.

"So turning into a hollow is different than giving into him because I would essentially still be in control of my body, right? If I just let him loose, then I wouldn't be able to do anything. I would be a prisoner in my own body." Ichigo's mouth snapped shut as he heard the high rasp of his hollow's voice directly behind him.

"Kinda like me, huh King? Ya keep me locked up in here, not able to do anythin', never getting' any freedom, 'cept when ya get beat down like a little pussy in battle. How would ya like dat, _Ichigo_? Bein' nothin' but mah beast of battle, caged in this sideways world till it's time fer ya ta kill?" He soundlessly moved up behind Ichigo until his chest rested against the boy's back in a long, unbroken line. There was no affection in the gesture, just a subtle threat of violence. Tension sung a sharp note in the air as Ichigo slowly tilted his head and looked at his hollow out of the corner of his eye.

"Get. Off."

The hollow smirked, golden eyes flashing triumphantly as he met Ichigo's cold brown gaze. "Whatsa matter, King? Feeling a lil' claustrophobic all of a sudden? How cute." He moved even closer until his chin rested on the orangette's shoulder, nose nestled into the soft strands of hair that smelled slightly earthy. A tiny smile curved his lips up, unseen by the other two, as he drew in his King's scent. Before he could stop himself, his inky tongue flicked out to taste the skin just beneath Ichigo's ear. When the other boy felt the wet sensation of a tongue running across his skin, he did the only thing that seemed to make sense in this situation.

Ichigo snapped.

The hollow's eyes widened in shock as an elbow slammed into his solar plexus with painful accuracy, knocking the breath out of him. As he tried to force his lungs to work, he felt Ichigo grip his white shihakusho and lift him up into the air before flinging the hollow down with all his strength, causing the pale being to crash through the windows that served as the ground in the inner world. He hit the wall in the room beneath them with such force that he almost broke through the plaster. He didn't notice the cracks his collision caused that spider webbed around his body, too busy blocking out the throbbing pain in his back as he shakily got his arms beneath him and pulled himself out of the rubble. He was quite sure that a few vertebrae were completely smashed into pieces, and he knew it would take a while before his instant regeneration could heal them. Surprisingly, Ichigo didn't follow him as he'd thought he would. The hollow felt the teen's blazing spiritual pressure above him, staying in one place. Zangetsu had probably stopped him from coming after his other half.

The hollow stayed crouched down until he could feel his lungs start to work again and the sharp pains in his back faded to a dull ache. He was a little amazed that Ichigo lost his control so quickly and completely over just a tiny lick. _It's not like I molested the goddamn idiot. It was just a little taste._

He reluctantly got up and made his way back up to where the other two were waiting for him. One patiently and the other with ill-concealed animosity.

"Are ya done fuckin' around now, King? Throwing lil' tantrums like a spoiled child ain't gonna help ya any."

Ichigo simply ignored him, ambling closer to Zangetsu as if the zanpakuto could shield him from his inner self. Zangetsu sighed, mentally preparing himself to take on the burden of conversing with the hollow.

"You always have to be intentionally provocative, do you not? Can you truly blame Ichigo when you would have done the same had he been in your place?"

"But he ain't in my place, now is he, old man?" A cruel smile twisted his features into something inhuman. "But tha' could be easily arranged."

Ichigo snorted, seemingly calmed down from his earlier outburst. "Like hell I'd ever give in to you. If I did, you'd probably just go crazy and get us killed."

The hollow laughed triumphantly. "Ha! You said us!"

Ichigo's lips curved in a sardonic smirk. "Yeah. I meant me and the old man. Didn't say anything 'bout you."

The hollow sobered quickly, not letting Ichigo's surliness get to him. "Ya know, yer still gonna need mah power, King. Changin' into a hollow ain't gonna change that. It'll just make it harder ta keep from killin' everythin' in sight." The hollow moved closer to Ichigo, disregarding the others thunderous expression that darkened with every small step. "Yer gonna be an animal, nothin' but instinct and darkness, King. Ya wouldn't be able ta handle it. Trust me. Stickin' wit me is yer best bet."

Ichigo flash-stepped away before the hollow got close enough to touch him. "Yeah right. I'm already getting tired of your stubborn ass. And I can take anything you dish out and give you back even more… _hollow_." The pause was obvious as Ichigo deliberately drew attention to his other half's nature as if it were a he were a disgusting bug on the bottom of the boy's sandal. He nodded at Zangetsu. "I'll talk to you later, old man. I got things to do." As he was fading away from his inner world, he thought he heard a quiet whisper from the pale being standing quietly beside the forbidding figure of his zanpakuto.

_"__My name is Shirosaki… my King."_

* * *

Grimmjow huffed angrily. For the last two hours he had been standing in this cold ass room while the espada had a meeting with the traitor soul reaper. _Even that fucking fruit loop is here_, he thought derisively. He raised his head when he heard Ulquiorra say his name.

"I am not able to give you Grimmjow's report as I was not with him during the mission except when we arrived at Karakura town and departed for Hueco Mundo. Perhaps it would be best for you to ask him for his own report, Lord Aizen." Ulquiorra's voice was amazingly steady despite the blatant lie. Had Grimmjow tried to lie to Aizen, he would've had to cover it up with bluster and animosity.

"Well, Grimmjow. What is your side to this story?" The bluenette felt a shiver run down his spine as he heard veiled amusement in Aizen's tone, almost as if the man knew they were keeping something from him. A happy Aizen was a scarily psychotic Aizen, and Grimmjow reluctantly admitted the bastard had him beat hands down in the power department.

"I followed the fucking kids like you'd told me to. Nothing happened. Nothing even remotely interesting happened, and I was bored as fuck. Almost felt like actually trying to talk to this idiot just so I could have something to do. And I don't want to…" Grimmjow trailed off when he realized that Aizen had slid off his throne and soundlessly moved to stand before him. The other espada had backed away, as had Aizen's two comrades, until only Ulquiorra stood beside Grimmjow.

"You don't want to what, dear Grimmjow?" He flinched as a cold, dry hand smoothed over the jaw that wasn't covered by bone. "Don't want to follow my orders? Don't want to cooperate and give your report? Don't want to suffer Ulquiorra as a partner?" His voice got quieter and quieter as he went on, until Grimmjow had to struggle to hear him even though Aizen was right beside him.

"Don't want to leave Ichigo?" Aizen's soft hair brushed Grimmjow's cheek as he whispered the next part, lips right next to his ear. "I know about your dalliance, dear Grimmjow. And I must say, I'm quite… disappointed."

With that said, Aizen stepped back up to his throne and clapped dismissively, signaling the end of the meeting that appeared pretty pointless to everyone besides Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Aizen himself. But they knew otherwise.

The shit was about to hit the fan.

* * *

God save the world from striped bucket hats.

The first thing Ichigo saw when he opened his eyes was scruffy blond hair topped with that. Damn. Bucket hat. He hated that hat, he wanted to kill it, over and over and over again. Once wasn't enough.

"Ichigo! You're awake!" Urahara seemed strangely delighted with that fact. The thought ran through the teenager's head that the crazy shopkeeper had gotten bored of using Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu as fodder for his practical jokes and now he wanted to make Ichigo suffer.

"How did I get here, Hat 'n' Clogs? I remember… passing out, and then nothing." He cursed the embarrassed blush that started to spread over his face. Fainting was for delicately constituted people, and Ichigo _wasn't_ delicate. Urahara, the sly bastard, saw his discomfort and simply grinned.

"Why, my boy! You don't remember braving the rough streets, full of foolhardy courage, even though you felt like you were on your last leg of life and were about to pass into the hereafter? You don't remember me gallantly sweeping you into my arms as you collapsed gracefully onto the porch of my shop? You don't remember me cradling you gently as I set you down onto a warm bed, patiently waiting at your bedside for you to gain consciousness so I could gaze into your beautiful brown eyes once more?"

"Umm… no."

"Well good. Because that didn't happen. If you'd remembered that, you would have been hallucinating some very disturbing things, young Ichigo. And I think we both don't want that, right?"

Ichigo once again had his perpetual scowl in place. "You better not. I have enough problems without you adding to them," Ichigo mumbled as he shut his eyes once more, trying to banish the fuzzy, gray spots that floated in front of his face wherever he looked. He wasn't fully recovered from whatever his stint in his inner world did to him. As much as he hated to admit it, he would have to take it easy for a while longer.

Ichigo slowly heaved himself up from the futon. Urahara made no move to help him since the man knew just how much Ichigo hated being coddled and taken care of. He was quite the independent boy.

"You might not want to move too much, Ichigo. You wouldn't want to strain yourself, now would you?" Urahara casually made his way over to the warm pot of tea that sat on a nearby table. Ururu, being such a sweet girl, had brought the tea and a few cups in a little while ago, slipping out of the door once more before Urahara had time to order her to do anything else for him. As he would have if he'd thought of it at the time. He was starting to crave chocolate covered almonds…

Ichigo blew out a breath as he finally sat upright, head bowed down to alleviate some of the dizziness. He could feel his equilibrium coming back, and the weakness in his limbs was fading slowly but surely as he tentatively stretched his muscles. He heard tea being poured into two cups and knew the shopkeeper's gray-green eyes were boring holes into the back of his head, but he ignored Urahara in favor of running his hands through his hair to try and brush some order back into the scrunched up strands.

But Urahara, being who he is, refused to be ignored. His voice cut through the thick silence, strangely serious.

"So, do you know what happened? I'm assuming it had something to do with your inner occupants." He paused, carefully placing a cup of hot green tea in Ichigo's hands before sitting beside him on the futon, shoulders touching. "I spoke to the Vizards, you know."

Ichigo's interest was perked. Taking a sip of tea, he asked, "Oh? And what did they say?" He was curious to see whether the others had gone through a similar situation, but he knew that was unlikely. The other Vizards had conquered their hollows after getting them through artificial means, courtesy of Aizen. Ichigo's hollow was a part of him, born of his darker side. It couldn't be destroyed or even completely suppressed without killing a part of himself.

"Well, they didn't say much, to be truthful. Most were not concerned about you, confident you would be fine. Hiyori especially was quite… unsympathetic to your plight. However, Shinji wanted to come and look you over, but I assured him you were in no danger. He eventually accepted that I had the situation under control."

"So I'm a situation now, huh? Great." Ichigo blew out a sigh. "I don't like worrying anyone, but I didn't have a choice about this. Zangetsu was the one who pulled me into my inner world to have a heart to heart with my hollow."

Urahara quirked an eyebrow in surprise, taking a careful drink of tea before he replied, "Really? And why did he want you two to talk, if I may ask?"

"He said I was denying part of myself by avoiding my hollow, or something like that. He told me a couple of things that I'd thought I'd wanted to hear but I didn't like it. My hollow said some things, I said some things, we fought, and nothing ended up being resolved." Ichigo rubbed a hand roughly over his face. "It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions."

Urahara hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe, maybe." He drank the last of his tea and rose to put the cup on the table. "But perhaps you should look at it as being one step closer to achieving your full potential. Because Zangetsu was right, Ichigo. You need to learn to accept your hollow. He is you, you are him. There is no denying that." He shot the grumpy teenager a happy grin. "You're just different sides of the same coin." Reaching into his robe, Urahara brought out a small gold disc that he tossed toward Ichigo. It landed with a sharp, metallic ding on the wooden floor at the orangette's feet. The side facing up depicted an eerie grinning skull. Ichigo picked it up and turned it over to see a monk kneeling beneath a tree. He pocketed the coin, knowing Urahara wanted him to keep it as a reminder when a tiny smile crossed the shopkeeper's lips.

"Learn to accept both sides, the light and the dark. And everything in between will open up to you." Urahara slid the door open and stepped out of the room. Before he shut the door again, he gave Ichigo one last piece of advice.

"If you take one thing away from this experience, Ichigo, remember this: Trust is something that is hard to earn and easy to lose. If you have one person you can trust to have your back when the world turns against you, then you're doing all right. Even if that person is the darkest part of you."

Ichigo was so deep in thought, mulling over the weirdly good advice the crazy shopkeeper gave him that he didn't even notice the quiet sound of the door falling shut, throwing the room into silence once more.

Could he trust his hollow? That being who seemed to live for chaos and bloodshed, who only respected the strength it took to strike one's enemies down? It was a frightening thought. But there was one even more disconcerting question that was running through the young soul reaper's mind.

How could he trust his hollow if he couldn't even trust himself?

* * *

A/N: There wasn't very much Grim-kitty in this chapter was there? Well, I'll just have to fix that next chapter, now won't I? ;-)

P.S.: Writing fanfictions is fun! And so is seeing people favorite, follow, and review. Thank you guys soooo much! I appreciate every one of you!


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